The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conferred upon industry awards to enterprises for setting new examples in various fields of Six Sigma implementation. The awards was judged on parameters such as customer impact, results achieved, sustainability of gains, employee involvement and commitment & linkage to strategic objectives of the business.

Bharti Airtel won the first prize for Six Sigma implemented in Transport network to enhance voice quality in its network.

“the programme, when embedded into the oil and gas industry would poise the firms for more efficiency, as reduces input because it requires less cost on labour, material, capital equipment and power/energy and ultimately increase productivity.”

Six Sigma iQ brings you this podcast titled Leadership Succession Planning: Best Practices for Keeping Your Lean Six Sigma Program Buy-In Intact.

In this Six Sigma podcast, Genna Weiss of Six Sigma iQ talks with Lee Campbell, the Continuous Process Improvement Director for the US Army Military District of Washington. From the podcast, you will learn how your Lean Six Sigma organization can achieve better buy-in of its program through effective leadership succession planning.

Some of the advice:

have good idea how long your leaders will be there

fix program to fit that uptempo

An example given: how long will your Six Sigma program take, and will the people still be there to see it till the end

Last night, an ambulance entered our Villas and picked up an old neighbor. We surmised, she might have had a stroke again. Since, I just got off from the car, I spent some minutes looking at how the ambulance parked in front of the neighbor’s house, and how the paramedics acted.

I observed that they were a bit slow, as if there was no emergency at all. I know doctors and paramedics deal with emergencies all the time, and that they have somehow become desensitized to it. But I hope despite that they still make a conscious effort to achieve the least, if not zero, defects.

Let me share with you a PowerPoint presentation on the next generation of Lean Six Sigma in healthcare. The presentation highlights how healthcare operations should be done, with matching examples. It’s a good info

Compare it with last year’s list (2008), McKesson Corp. and Xerox Corporation again made it on this years’ list. The companies will be awarded and recognized next year at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards, Feb. 3, 2010 at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, South Beach, Miami, Fla., USA.

An article on iSixSigma Software shows us that Six Sigma tools can also be used in agile software projects, even though the underlying principles of each don’t complement.

The article goes:

Six Sigma’s genesis was in the manufacturing world where one of its primary goals has been to reduce process variation. On the other hand, Agile software development is built on the premise that complex software projects, unlike manufacturing, cannot be successful in an environment using defined process control. Instead, Agile development supports empirical process control that relies on continuous inspection and adaptation of the process used.

Six Sigma offers a groundbreaking way of reducing defects in the end product â€“ something that any software project can definitely use. Hence, it makes a lot of sense to at least evaluate the possibilities of integrating both processes.

Agile software methodologies, based on the principles of the Agile Manifesto, are typically adaptive processes that provide a process framework. This framework guides a development team to build software using a process adapted to suit the domain of the project. This approach actually opens up possibilities of using appropriate tools, including tools of Six Sigma, that can help improve the quality of the product.

Since Six Sigma espouses change and continuous improvement, it’s only proper that it too improvises or patterns its tools to the call of the times.

That is how I feel about the modified Six Sigma DMAIC Framework that Reg Goeke and Eric Reidenbach write about. The article was how to make use of the value-driven Six Sigma, from cost-cutting to revenue growth. The modified Six Sigma DMAIC framework addresses how customers should be reached and pleased.

Here’s their suggested modified Six Sigma DMAIC Framework.

Define: The Targeted Market Segment(s) – The first step of a modified DMAIC is to acquire a laser-like focus on the market segments that best represent opportunities for business growth.

Measure: To Determine What Drives Value – The key to business growth, both top-line revenues and market share, is to create and deliver superior value.

Analyze: To Determine Your Competitive Performance on CTQs – An analysis of those performance ratings will reveal your competitive value performance gaps, as well as performance gaps on the most important CTQs and the underlying value performance criteria.

The dictionary defines a catalyst as a person or an event that causes great change. For an organization, the catalyst would be a high incidence of waste or errors in the processes. If an organization is experiencing errors or making wastes the tendency is for that organization to break through and change.

This is where quality principles or strategies come in. For many companies, they see Six Sigma as their catalyst for change. In return, for a Six Sigma program to succeed, it also needs a catalyst. What are the persons or events in a Six Sigma team or Six Sigma program can inspire great change.

An article on iSixSigma lists 10 catalysts for successful Six Sigma programs.